guilt

/ɡɪlt/

guilt means responsibility for wrongdoing. Lexicurio rates it Distinctive — a strength score of 68 out of 100.

guilt is pronounced /ɡɪlt/.

Etymology

From Middle English gilt, gult, from Old English gylt (“guilt, sin, offense, crime, fault”), of obscure origin. Possibly related with Old English ġieldan (“to pay, requite, punish”) (whence yield), from Proto-West Germanic *guldijā (whence Middle High German gülte (“debt, fee, financial duty”), Middle Low German gülde, German Gülte), from Proto-West Germanic *geldan (“to pay for”), from Proto-Germanic *geldaną (“to pay”). However, neither the Old English stem form nor its ending -t (instead of -d) fit the continental form.

noun

Responsibility for wrongdoing.
The state of having been found guilty or admitted guilt in legal proceedings.
Regret for having done wrong.“Appropriate guilt is experienced when we actually do something objectively wrong—for example, exploit another, betray a trust, and so on. […] Inappropriate guilt occurs from believing a lie and is resolved by an application of the truth.”

verb

To commit offenses; act criminally.
To cause someone to feel guilt, particularly in order to influence their behaviour.“He didn't want to do it, but his wife guilted him into it.”